Good Product Photography Positively Affects Your Brand’s Reputation And Increases Sales.

Clear, consistent photography is one of the quickest ways to build value online. If you want first-time customers to turn into repeat buyers, they need to be able to relate to and trust your brand. Without good photography, you’re risking unhappy customers. Did you know that 22% of product returns occur because the product looks different in person? A good level of trust should follow right through from your product presentation to the delivery of them to the buyer in order to secure those returning customers.

Here at Kubix, we’ve often been asked: “What will make the biggest impact on my store?”, and time and time again we say that they should invest in their product photography. Your photography should be visible throughout your website: from your homepage, through the collection pages and product pages. The higher the quality, the better your stock appears, and the higher the level of trust for your brand.

Start With A Solid Foundation.

On any high street shopping spree, you either know exactly where you want to go, or you’ll be lured in by signs, wonders and treats that catch your eye as you wander from store to store. Shopping online needs to mirror this in order to draw people in and to encourage them to add products to their basket. Ever turned away from an online store because of its poor photography? When you’re unable to touch and experience a product before putting your money towards it, it’s easy to be put off by images that don't show the item in the best light.

Getting the bare foundations of your product photography right is important before you consider further additions. If you’ve booked a studio session, your photographer is going to have industry knowledge that will be invaluable, but it’s still worth working out the style you are after beforehand so that you know you’re both on the same page.

The three words you’ll need to remember? Lighting. Angles. Lifestyle.

Start with your lighting. Your customers want to see your products in full view without any distractions. Avoid dim light and overcrowding at all costs. You don’t want your customers squinting at the screen to make out dark corners, or struggling to see details due to lack of proper light, so make sure that you’re lighting up all the angles and representing product colours well. Cutting out distractions means considering your background too. A consistent, clean background for your product listings will create a streamlined look for your website (think about the collection page!), and we always recommend opting for something plain that doesn’t draw the eye away from the main event.

Provide different camera angles that go further than just a front and side view. Think about what your customers will be wanting to see, and go the extra mile. If you’re selling a pair of shoes, for example, your potential customer will not only need to see front, side and back angles. By also giving them a birds eye view that shows the inside of the shoe, you’ll provide them with the closest experience they can have to seeing it in real life, as they would almost certainly look there in any brick and mortar shoe store. Toffeln, who sell comfort-focused shoes to the healthcare industry, have taken this one step further by providing a 360 view of their best-selling clog, giving yet another layer of customer interaction.

The third key foundation to include in your product photography is a lifestyle shot or two. Including lifestyle imagery on a product page will help to tell a story, providing potential buyers with a look into how this product might fit in their world. Selling a waterproof hiking rucksack? Take it up the mountain and get action shots in every weather, making sure to show off its main features in use while you’re at it. This balance of high quality studio shots that hone in on the details, and well thought out lifestyle photography that show your product in situ, will take you one step further to that all important add-to-cart.

Consider Your Industry.

Let's take a look at a few examples of how you might tailor this advice within different industries.

Furniture:

Not only will different angles be especially important when selling furniture, you’ll also want to think about including the dimensions in some way. You might do this with a simple diagram of heights, widths and other important details, or even through your lifestyle shots. When a customer can see an example of the furniture they need within a home or office space, they will have a better resource to imagine it in their own living situation, than if they had no context to go on.

Technology:

Technology is all about the details, so it’s here that you need to really zoom in on every aspect that your customer will want to see. Take a digital camera as an example. Not only are your customers going to want to see the face of what they are buying, but they will also want to see things like the dial, unique features and display screen too. In store, they would have the ability to touch the camera, pick it up and see how it felt in their hands. Without this interaction, it’s important to build up as accurate a picture as possible for any potential buyers. Here, more is definitely more!

Fashion:

Whether it’s clothing, shoes or accessories, shoppers are going to want to imagine themselves wearing your garments, so lifestyle shots are essential. Selling hiking boots? Include a shot up a mountain. All about swimwear? Take your models to the beach to show off your Speedos in action. Online fashion giant ASOS is a great example of going the extra mile by including product videos within each listing which makes each item come alive. Research has even shown that 55% of consumers use videos for purchase decisions. We’ve talked about how good quality product photography can build a greater sense of trust for your buyers, and product videos will take this trust to an even deeper level.

There are so many more examples we could give. Add finished recipes to your food photography. Show movement in your activewear. Grab your pooch as a prop when you’re trying to sell from your pet shop. Each industry requires a different approach, so do your research and get creative.

Be Diverse, And Be Creative.

Diversity is increasingly important in e-commerce, particularly for those in the fashion industry. Making your products accessible to a wider audience will guarantee greater sales - and your photography is a great place to start. Before getting your models in front of the camera, think about sizing, ethnicity, ableness and gender. Who is your target audience right now, and who could it be in the future? Make sure your product photography reflects this so that your customers will feel represented no matter where they come from.

Creativity is also key to helping your brand stand out. Not sure where to start? Check out what other brands in your industry are doing - and not doing. Which details do they pick up on and are there any that they don’t? Think about how your own brand can learn from this and replicate or go even further. By getting these creative juices flowing, you’ll start to create product photography that will help you stand out in the crowd.

Detailed images give shoppers a closer look at specific product features. Which extra little details would be a potential point of interest for your customer? This might be an interesting label or a small design that is not so noticeable on an overview shot. Think about showing close up shots of zippers, handles and other unique features. By providing these smaller snapshots, you will help to build a bigger, more detailed picture for your buyers so that they have confidence that what they will receive from you will be what they expected.

Don’t Be Afraid To Experiment.

Our key take-away? Just like you would invest in the development of the product you’re selling, investing in your product photography is equally as important if you want to secure those sales. Capture those high quality shots, make sure your lighting and angles are on point, and think about new ways to show off the details.

And don’t be afraid to experiment. If something isn’t selling well, change up the photography, or switch up the order of photos so that something new will show up on your collection page. It’s worth the time and effort to find out what works for your brand and your products. Once you’re confident that you’re showing your customers exactly what they need to see, you’ll give your brand the solid foundation that it needs to reach the masses, grow to new heights, and face the future in photogenic style.

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Need help getting your product photography where it needs to be? We’re always here for a free consultation or discussion about Shopify and your needs.

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